Bond hearingsThe following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Monday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear Aug. 4 in Circuit Court. • Rhonda Haney Hamm, 57, breaking or entering and theft of property — $5,000. On Sunday, a woman fishing at Old Post Park found Hamm "digging through the tool box" in the back of her truck, according to a police report...

Marion County woman convicted of Medicaid fraud LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A Marion County woman has pleaded guilty to felony Medicaid fraud for billing the state's Medicaid program for services she did not provide, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel says. Amanda Coker, 36, of Yellville was convicted in Pulaski County Circuit Court on one count of Medicaid fraud. Special Circuit Judge John Plegge sentenced Coker to five years of probation. Coker was also ordered to pay a fine topping $10,000 and rest...

Suspect arrested in double homicidePINE BLUFF (AP) — A Mississippi man has been arrested in connection with a double homicide in Jefferson County. Authorities said William Cody Childress, 21, was arrested Saturday in connection with Friday morning's discovery of the bodies of Anthony Branch, 62, and Deborah Moncrief, 58, inside a Jefferson County residence. After collecting evidence inside the residence and interviewing family members of the victims, investigators located Child...

Yellville woman pleads guilty to Medicaid fraud LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A Marion County woman has been sentenced to probation, a fine and ordered to pay restitution after pleading guilty to Medicaid fraud. Amanda Coker, 36, admitted in Pulaski County Circuit Court Thursday that she billed the state Medicaid program in 2011 for services she did not provide. She was sentenced to five years of probation, fined more than $10,300 and ordered to pay $3,452.65 in restitution. Prosecutors say Coker work...

Trial set in Texarkana square dancer's death TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) — A judge has scheduled an October trial for a 65-year-old Texarkana woman charged in the fatal shooting of a fellow square dancer. Virginia Ann Hyatt is accused of killing 59-year-old Patricia Wheelington last December. According to an affidavit, Wheelington and Hyatt were both members of the Guys and Dolls Squaredancing Club. At a court hearing this week, Circuit Judge Joe Griffin scheduled Hyatt's trial for Oct. 20 with...

6 dead, 4 children, in suburban Houston shooting SPRING, Texas (AP) — A father opened fire at a suburban Houston home Wednesday, killing four of his children as well as two adults who were with them, and critically wounding his 15-year-old daughter, authorities said. The teenager was able to call 911 and later warned deputies that her father planned to go to her grandparents' home to kill them, said Deputy Thomas Gilliland of the Harris County Sheriff's Office. The suspected gunman eventuall...

Survey: Rapes not investigated at 2 in 5 colleges WASHINGTON (AP) — A survey of colleges and universities finds a lack of coordination between many campuses and local law enforcement in handling sexual assaults, and that many schools have gone years without investigating such cases. About 40 percent of colleges and universities reported not having conducted a sexual assault investigation in the past five years, including 6 percent of the nation's largest public institutions. More than 20 perc...

Texarkana man sentenced in meth distribution case TEXARKANA (AP) — A Texarkana man has been sentenced in federal court to more than 11 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Marcus Floyd, 44, was sentenced Wednesday and will also have three years of supervised release, federal prosecutors said. During an investigation, Floyd was observed dropping a plastic bag containing suspected methamphetamine on the floorboard of his vehicle. Floyd was taken into custody...

Reward offered in death of endangered terns LITTLE ROCK (AP) — An $8,500 reward has been offered for information on the deaths of several Interior least terns found on a small island in the Arkansas River. The endangered birds are protected by federal and state endangered species regulations. They are found anywhere along the Arkansas River, from the Oklahoma state line to the Mississippi River. Their main nesting area is a section of the river from Clarksville downstream to Pine Bluff....

$460K claim for tossed drug conviction rejected LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A former Arkansas resident whose drug-dealing conviction was tossed out because investigators withheld evidence that could have helped his case is not entitled to nearly half a million dollars for the time he served in prison, lawmakers said Tuesday. A legislative panel reversed and dismissed the state Claims Commission's decision to award Gyronne Buckley $460,000 for the 11½ years he served in prison for the convictions. Th...

Ex-Fort Smith officer sentenced for sexual assault FORT SMITH (AP) — A former Fort Smith police officer has been sentenced to five years in prison for having sex with a girl who was 16 at the time. The Times Record reported Billy Rowe Jr., 31, of Bonanza was sentenced Monday after he pleaded guilty last month to five counts of sexual assault. Prosecutors say the girl said she met Rowe through church and became close to him at a church camp and that they later communicated on social networks an...

Suspect in custody in Boone County death HARRISON (AP) — Authorities have arrested a suspect in the death of a 75-year-old woman who was found dead inside a store near Harrison. Boone County Sheriff Mike Moore says Adah Lorraine Carte was found dead Thursday night inside her store at Bear Creek Springs north of Harrison. Moore says the death is being treated as a homicide. Carte was the owner of Ozark Emporium. Arkansas State Police say a suspect was arrested Friday afternoon near Be...

Bond hearingsThe following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Thursday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed below. If charged, they will appear Aug. 4 in Circuit Court. • Richard Cleary, 25, second-degree battery and criminal mischief — $50,000. Shortly after midnight Monday, Cleary went to a residence where his estranged wife was staying and got into an altercation with a mal...

Beebe signs bills on lotto, insurance, prisons LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe has signed into law measures approved during this week's special session addressing teacher health insurance premiums, new limits on the lottery and additional funding for state prisons. Beebe's office on Thursday said the governor signed the House and Senate versions of the measures approved during the three-day special session he called. Lawmakers gave final approval to the measures early Wednesday...

Bond Hearings (July 2, 2014)The following individual appeared during felony bond hearings Wednesday at the Pope County Detention Center. Her name, age, anticipated charge and bond amount is listed below. If charged, she will appear Aug. 4 in Circuit Court. • Lacy Fowler, 28, forgery — $5,000. On June 1, Fowler’s mother told the Russellville Police Department (RPD) Fowler, had allegedly stolen a checkbook and was cashing checks in her name, according to a police report. F...

Man questioned in New Orleans shooting NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A man identified by Louisiana police as a "person of interest" in connection with a weekend shooting in New Orleans turned himself in to police Wednesday and was jailed on unrelated charges. Nola.com http://bit.ly/1rlMt51 and WVUE TV http://bit.ly/TEhOkL reported that 20-year-old Justin Odom was booked into the Jefferson Parish jail on shoplifting and traffic-related charges. Odom had an attorney with him as he was interview...

Teen faces murder charge in death of daughter SEARCY (AP) — Prosecutors have filed a first-degree murder charge against an Arkansas teenager accused of causing the death of his 4-year-old daughter. The Searcy Daily Citizen reported that prosecutors filed the murder charge against 19-year-old Dustin Lee Watson in the June 19th death of Za'Miya Watson. Steve Hernandez with the Searcy Police Department says the little girl died from blunt force head trauma. Watson appeared in court on Tuesda...